Improving Youth-Friendly Services (YFHS) in Thailand

Of the 66.18 million people living in Thailand, approximately 8 million are adolescents aged 10–19 years and approximately 8.5 million are youth aged 15-24 (NSO, 2020). Meeting the health and wellbeing needs of every young person in Thailand is not only important for each individual but is also crucial for the country as a whole to develop to its full potential. In order to respond to the specific health needs of youth, in 1997 Thailand adopted a policy on promoting Youth-Friendly Health Services (YFHS) and introduced YFHS throughout the country. As of 2019, 855 YFHS were established under the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH), mostly based in public health facilities (community, regional and

provincial hospitals). These services target young people aged 10-24. Since 2013, national standards for YFHS have been developed and implemented as one of the actions to ensure an appropriate and quality response of YFHS to the health needs of young people.

In 2019, the MoPH, supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), commissioned anAssessment of Youth-Friendly Health Services

(YFHS) in Thailand. The assessment, undertaken by the College of Public Health Sciences of Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, aimed to:

1. Examine the extent to which Thailand YFHS standards are consistent with WHO global standards to improve the quality of healthcare services for adolescents. 
2. Explore the perspectives of YFHS providers, and assess the enablers and barriers related to service provision and information management.
3. Assess the needs and perspectives of adolescents towards YFHS; and
4. Provide recommendations to government agencies, particularly the MoPH and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), for improving the quality and sustainability of YFHS

This policy brief aims to offer information about the assessment findings and to provide government agencies and other organizations engaged in adolescent health with evidence-based recommendations for improving YFHS in Thailand.